he is over the edge. thank you for watching. keep it here on fox news. we'll see you tomorrow on "the five." captioned by closed captioning services, inc >> bret: i'm bret baier live in ames, iowa, tonight, site of tomorrow night's g.o.p. debate. we'll talk all about iowa politics in a moment. but first, we begin with this fox news alert. one day after a furious attempt at recovery, wall street gave back all of its gains from tuesday. and then some. the dow jones/industrials industrial average lost 520 points today. the s&p 500 drop 52. the nasdaq gave back 101.5. the freeball appears to have been sparked -- freefall appears to have been sparked by fears of a new international banking crisis. get analysis now from fox business network correspondent and anchor liz claman in the new york bureau. liz, what happened?

>> what happened? it's unbelievable what happened today. i've been on the floor of the stockton every day this week because we have seen massive gyrations in stocks all over it's the cleanest, clearest water. the place. we find the best, sweetest crab for red lobster we can find. today was really interesting behavior. interesting is a kind word to yeah! [ male announcer ] hurry in to crabfest at red lobster. put it considering viewers are looking at the 401(k) saying the only time you can savor what happened? three sweet alaskan crab entrees all under $20, today, august 10, we saw 400-point swing, all throughout the day. all over the map. like our hearty crab and roasted garlic seafood bake and when all was said and done or sn crab and crab butter shrimp. the dow lost 520 points. [ jon i wouldn'tut it my table at home, stocks cratering. i wouldn't bring it in. the nasdaq down 101. my name's jon forsythe, and i sea fd differently. the s&p down 52. gold, big panic moment there. gold touched $1800 an ounce. today, it ended up more than $41. below that $18 an ounce mark. you say what happened? the traders on the floor of the stockton were kicking it along, things were okay. suddenly this morning word came out there were concern about the validity, credit worthiness of the french banks. this time it wasn't anything,

bret, having to do with the united states or any problems here in washington, d.c. it was that people were wondering and there were rumors out there that french franks, we're talking about banks like societe generale, and the big french banks they would have to shoulder any problems because they have a lot of exposure to debt of other countries that are in trouble. such as greece, spain, or italy. those banks came out immediately and said we're fine, we can meet all of our obligations but the damage was already done. immediately you saw gyrations here in the united states. why? because it harkens back to the problems that we saw back in 2007/2008. one trader passing me on the floor, bret, said how do you say bear stearns in french? bear sterns and lehman brothers had big rumors swirling around them in the end everything wasn't fine. that is where the problem started. they ended with us down more >> bret: welcome back to than 500 points in the united ames, iowa. on the campus of iowa state states. university for the special edition of "special report." >> bret: that is amazing. ups of security forces are

we saw the european central preparing for the worst again bank buy up bonds for italy tonight in great britain. the prime minister david and spain. cameron said today the country will there be other action on france now that it seems like is sick. it's exploding other places? many britains are feeling a >> remember, france has big debt, but it's also believe it deep sense of disgust on what is happening on the streets or not a.a.a. rated by the which they're trying to take ratings agencies which came back. senior foreign affairs out today and reaffirmed that. they said no, frabs is fine. correspondent amy kellogg is in london. we're fine with them. >> up in defiance, people they will meet the cleaning up the mess they obligations. amazing that france has a.a.a. didn't create. and the united states doesn't coming out in community after community, their way of anymore. but obviously, france and the fighting back, too. european union will have to as one newspaper put, "sweep dip back in and be forced to the scum off our streets." buy bonds to make sure that the liquidity, the so-called clean-up crews were coordinated by the same social cash moving in the market stays healthy. >> bret: liz, thank you very networking program said to much. as always. much more on this with the have been used to bring out panel. thank you. the mob who are apparently not now the reason we are here in just coming out in spontaneous iowa the rest of the week, showing of rage but calculated eight republicans vying for their party's presidential assault on city centers, nomination are getting ready overnight in cities outside to take part in thursday's the capital. candidate debate. mobs that have alerted britain right here from the campus of to a grim reality. iowa state university. >> it's all too clear, we have in ames. a big problem with gangs in chief political correspondent our country. carl cameron is just down the for too long, there has been a road a bit in des moines. lack of focus on the complete tell us what is at stake. lack of respect shown by the

>> reporter: wednesday's g.o.p. debate in ames' iowa, groups of thugs. >> we'll riot you. could be a game changer. >> reporter: the streets of london have been flooded with the latest fox news poll shows police, but the ordinary sits taking matters in their own mitt romney up nationwide over hands, too. protecting their own places of perry at 13%. sarah palin is third with 8%. worship. as the sihks did. michele bachmann at 7% comes in fourth. they took time to stand over a romney is expected to take a mosque while the muslim pounding for the rivals for neighbors prayed, trying to remaining silent in the recent project image of neighborhood debt debate, now that the nation's credit rating has unity. tragically, three men were run been downgraded and world down by a car last night, markets are in turmoil. he is already bracing for the killed while keeping watch over the neighborhood of attacks. >> i believe i'm the best birmingham, one of the cities equipped to be able to provide to this nation the leadership that was under siege. now, bret, things are that is necessary to get our relatively calm tonight but economy back on track. certainly not back to normal. the westminster magistrate >> reporter: michele court for the second night in bachmann hopes to dominate the debate in part to mute if not a row is staying open all night long to process hundreds silence what is a relentless of arrests that have been made stream of criticism from the in the past few days. main stream media. parliament has been recalled from the summer recess and it it's critical for tim pawlenty will meet in an emergency who is well-liked but not session tomorrow. considered charismatic. bret? >> bret: amy kellogg, live >> shovel ready was not as in london tonight. amy, thank you. shovel ready as we expected. back here at home, republicans >> reporter: pawlenty's latest video suggests that will maintain control of the

president obama is failing on wisconsin state senate. the only question now is by the economy because he lacked experience before taking office, which is pawlenty's how much? peter doocy has that story criticism of bachmann as well. from madison. this is a key opportunity for georgia businessman herman >> reporter: republicans cain since his strong maintained their majority in performance in the first two madison late last night, as debates. rick santorum also needs to democrats were only able to turn heads. he has been organizing recall two g.o.p. state senators instead of the three homeschoolers and socially they needed to take over. conservative catholics in iowa >> just reaffirm that we're on and needs a break-out debate the right track. performance. for newt gingrich, the debate people appreciate the idea is a chance to showcase his that the state is in pretty good fiscal shape and that the intellect and prove despite budget is balanced. massive staff resignations he >> reporter: republican governor scott walker who has more ideas than most of successfully limited collective bargaining right of his rivals. it's jon huntsman's debut in the state employee union earlier in year agrees the debate but otherwise he's stating, "last november the skipping iowa. today, they introduced jeb voter sent a message they want bush junior to lead the fiscal responsibility and outreach to young focus on jobs. professionals. then there is texas our first months in office, we congressman ron paul who had a town hall with his son senator balanced the budget and the state created 39,000 new jobs. rand paul of kentucky ripped texas governor rick perry who more than $25 million of is expected to join the race outside money was spent on the in the next ten days. recall races. >> his record as a governor conservative groups like the does not show him as a club for growth gave stand-out, being a republicans nearly conservative. $13 million. he actually was the chairman about the same amount came for al gore at one time, not from the national unions like

too many years ago. the afl-cio and seiu for >> reporter: here now at a democrats and even though four fundraiser for the state of six democrats failed in the republican party in iowa just recall challenges, at least outside of des moines, where mitt romney will be the one, clark, said it was worth headliner comes late word there will be another g.o.p. it. [ applause ] luminary descending on the >> this is evidence that the hawkeye state this weekend. sarah palin is bringing her democracy still works. >> reporter: his colleague points out two victories are bus tour to the iowa state beer than none. fair which starts tomorrow. unclear if she will visit >> last night, two republicans were recalled thursday or friday but the in republican districts. presence means there is a distinct possibility her these are republicans that numbers will go up as a survived the obama wave write-in saturday's straw election. but they couldn't survive the poll. middle class. >> reporter: republicans bret? lost two seat last night but they will have a chance too >> bret: always interesting. carl, see you in a bit. get them back on tuesday when two democrats face recall. republicans will no doubt if the g.o.p. wins both of hammer president obama hard over the economy. those, their majority will be the president kept a low profile today as the bad right back where it was before economic news just kept any of this started. coming. here is chief white house in madison, peter doocy, fox correspondent ed henry. news. >> reporter: two summers ago >> bret: up next, he is not at martha's vineyard, running, but he is playing a president obama renominated role in iowa this week. federal reserve chairman ben we'll talk live with former bernanke to a second term. >> this bold, persistent presidential candidate mike huckabee. [ male announcer imagine all of your missed opportunities experimentation brought our economy back from the brink.

there are steps that are working. >> reporter: but not working fast enough. today, the president was huddling in private with bernanke and the markets again plummeted. the turmoil comes as a new fox news poll finds for the first time a small majority of americans, 51%, do not believe the president is a strong decisive leader. he has take an 15-point slide since october of 2009, when 60% thought he was. that dipped to 52% this march. now only 45%. the president's job approval has dropped to 42%. in one place. ♪ the front-row tickets you never bought. disapproval is up to 48%. if the election were held the lucrative investment you never made. today, only 44% say they would vote to relecht him. the exotic vacation you never took. while 51% would vote for someone else. spokesman jay carney was asked but there's one opportunity that's too good to miss. about the optics of the the lexus golden opportunity sales event, president returning to martha's vineyard later this month amid the economic with exceptional values on the lexus rx. crisis. >> i don't think americans out but only until september 6th. there would begrudge that see your lexus dealer. notion that the president would spend time with his

family. >> reporter: but it comes after media attacks questioning whether he feels the voters' pain. maureen dowd hitting the president for failing to interrupt his camp david weekend to buck up the country. after friday night s&p downgrade and the tragic loss of 30 soldiers in afghanistan. >> the markets generally have a lot of acceptance and understanding that a president needs to get away. presidents have run into trouble when they look like they are on vacation, enjoying themselves, when the country is suffering economically. >> reporter: white house aide stress the president is heavily focused on jobs. >> this president will not rest until he is confident that every american who wants a job can find a job. >> reporter: sound familiar? president said the same in martha's vineyard two summers ago. >> i won't let up until americans looking for jobs will find them. >> reporter: the republican leaders name the pick for super committee. it will be rob portman, pat

toomey jon kyl in the house. hensarling, camp and upton. we're waiting for democratic leader nancy pelosi to name her pick. the key is whether she wants mostly liberals to protect the entitlement program instead of reform them, bret. >> bret: ed henry live on the north lawn. thank you. pentagon officials say the international forces killed the insurgents responsible for shooting down an american helicopter. that killed 30 u.s. troops last weekend. jennifer griffin tells us about the pay-back. >> reporter: two days after the chinook crashed, special operation forces trapped a taliban commander and fighter who the military said shot down the helicopter. m-16 bombed the compound where they were hiding. >> we tracked them as we would in the aftermath of any operation. we dealt with them with a kinetic strike in the aftermath of that, we

have achieved certainty they, in fact, were killed in that strike. >> reporter: general allen said the seal team six unit was part of the original mission, not part of a rescue team. the seals were supposed to stop taliban insurgents who were escaping. their chinook faced small arms fire and rocket propelled >> bret: welcome back to grenade. ames, iowa. that is stevens auditorium >> there were elements that were escaping. behind me, the site of the in the course of their attempt debate thursday night where to depart the objective, we the republican presidential candidates will be involved in this live televised debate committed a force to contain here on fox news. that element from getting out. it's thursday, 9:00 >> reporter: those who died were not involved in the bin p.m. eastern time. iowa has been very good to the laden raid, but now kathryn bigelow, the oscar award next guest in 2008. winning director of "the hurt former alaska governor mike locker" is receiving help from huckabee won the iowa the white house, pentagon and caucuses. now he is playing a very c.i.a. on a screen play for a different role in this year's movie on seal team six and the iowa straw poll. bin laden raid, slated to be that of entertainer, not candidate. he also, of course, hosts a released before the presidential election. "new york times" columnist weekend show on this network. maureen dowd writes the movie makers are getting top level governor huckabee joins us access to the most classified live from little rock. >> good to be with you, bret. mission in history, from an i look forward to get back to administration that tried to iowa and i understand it's nice weather so we have a lot throw more people in jail for to look toward to and politics

leaking classified information than the bush administration. with the straw poll. republican congressman peter >> bret: governor, it's king wants an investigation in great already. you can feel the excitement to whether classified here. listen, you not running this information is being provided year. but there is a new fox news to hollywood. poll out, just today. the white house pushed back. >> we do not discuss 3% of respondents to our fox classified information. news poll volunteered your name as their choice for i hope the house committee on president. more support than tim pawlenty, rick santorum and terrorism has more important jon huntsman. things to discuss than a movie. >> reporter: the last time they cooperated with bigelow the question is are you coming back to get back in? on "the hurt locker" they >> well, the question is what pulled out after bigelow broke is wrong with the rest of 297% that did not name -- rest of an agreement and added scenes, including sending military the 97% that did not name nein the poll? vehicle in palestinian place that's what hurts my feeling. at 3% i'd hardly call it a stinging mandate to jump back to record mob scene. in things. i am frankly looking forward bret >> bret: thank you jennifer. to being part of the process, we'll talk live with a man who knows what it is like to rup but this time from the sidelines. and win in iowa a bit later. it will be an interesting but first, we will tell you perspective that i'll be able how democrats fared in their to have, having been there attempts to seize power in the just four years ago in the wisconsin senate. midst of it. this time, being able to [ jon ] we don't just come up here for the view up in alaska. observe that really is a very unique piece of political

theater in america. one that i think a lot of people don't fully comprehend. what this is going to show is not just who can organize people but who has the intensity of organization. that can actually get people to drive hundreds of miles and spend all day on the campus of the college voting for someone in an election that really doesn't matter at all. >> bret: governor, it is all about organization here. and you performed well in the straw poll. obviously, that propelled you to win the iowa caucuses. but for somebody like a tim pawlenty who is behind you in this poll, how important is this day, this week, this debate, this whole process here in ames? >> for candidate like tim pawlenty it could be a make-or-break moment. it's not about winning. it's about exceeding expectations. if he comes ahead of michele bachmann, that's a seminole event in his campaign and he has take an quantum leap

forward. there is a perception that she is the likely winner. frankly, that is not something you wish to have. because if she does anything other than win, people will say she is not as fast on track as people thought. a lot of talk about ron paul, this time taking it more seriously and is organizing, not just getting people there to make noise, but to vote. he could be a spoiler. so, somebody is going to come away from this moving ahead and others, this may be their last campaign moment. they may not quit saturday night, but every four years when this happens there are people who really never recover from a less than stellar event at the strow poll. >> bret: governor, you clicked with iowanss. it propelled you to a win in caucuses. is it fair to say that iowanss like straight talkers and not talking points? as we get ready for the debate

and there will be eight candidates on the stage. a lot to talk about. >> one thing about the people of iowa, they have seen every candidate not once, but dozens of times. most people have haded a candidate in their home. i mean it half facetiously. iowans are not star-struck because they're running for president. it's a benefit to everyone in the country whether they've ever been to iowa. when people run for president it's healthy if they have to sit down and talk to farmer struggling the crop prices or unemployed truck driver or someone laid off his job at whirlpool. it's a positive thing that the person who wants to be president isn't just having a few events the swells who can afford a $29,800 plate. it's nice to sit down in the diner and talk to people who couldn't even buy a second cup of coffee. and that's a plus that all americans benefit from. it's one of the strengths of

why iowa does matter and the straw poll and caucuses are important part of the process. >> bret: governor, we look forward to having you here in ames. see you the rest of the week. thanks. >> thank you, bret. >> bret: we'll have more on the debate and the action here in ames with a special traveling edition of "special report" online. 7:00 eastern tonight. still coming to you. still to come, what journalists who cover iowa politics expect in thursday night's debate. up next, he won crucial victories in 2008. how will president obama do in 2012 here? the 3.6-liter v6 engine of the jeep grand cherokee has a best-in-class driving range of over 500 miles per tank. so you can catch morning tee time in pebble beach and the afternoon meeting in losngeles all without running out of gas. st make sure you don't run out of gas.

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taste. ♪ delicious pringles multigrain. with a variety of flavors, multigrain pops with pringles. >> bret: we're skipping the grapevine tonight for more political news from here in iowa. site of tomorrow's candidate debate and saturday's straw poll. the hawkeye state was big for then senator obama three years ago. tonight, correspondent steve brown looks at what has changed for president since then. and what has not. >> iowa launched barack obama. he won the democratic caucuse caucuses, breezed to take the state in the general election. >> obama for america. >> looking ahead to 2012. >> at the end of the day, the field organization wins these things. it always is. it always has been. it always will be. >> the ace up the president's sleeve in iowa is

organization. the huge crowds of three years ago were the result of a large and deep operation, much of which still exist. plus. >> we still got the 35,000 vote edge over the republicans. >> but that's down substantially from the 110,000 register voter edge democrats had in 2008. >> that is putting a chill down the side of david axelrod and the gang in chicago. iowa is competitive territory. >> on the marquee campaign issue of jobs, iowa unemployment is 6%, lower than the national average of 9.1%. the state lost over 21,000 manufacturerring job since the 2008 election. that economic unease was a factor in the 2010 gubernatorial race. >> i defeated incumbent governor, something that hasn't happened in iowa since 1962. >> how is it going, iowa? >> plus, it will be impossible to rep kate the obama -- replicate obama-thon put on for iowans in the first run. >> iowa was spoiled in 2007 leading up to the caucuses they basically had all obama, all the time. >> president obama will be back in iowa tuesday as part

of the bus trip to talk rural economics. officially it is not campaign event. the re-election campaign has the luxury of time. >> the election is not today. is it unsettled? it is. but every re-election is unsettled. >> she also says that iowa today is a purple state, evenly divided between republicans and democrats. that's very different from the crows of how blue iowa was after the white house race of 2008. a lot has changed. bret? >> bret: steve brown, 00 yards away. steve, thank you. syrian troops reportedly killed at least 11 civilians today in an armed assault against the city of homes. they established control of another town after four days of intense fighting. back here at home, the u.s. has slapped sanctions on syria's largest commercial bank and cell phone operator. chief washington correspondent jim ankle reports something

bigger is on the horizon. >> with the syrian government getting ever more brutal in the crackdown on protesters, officials say the obama administration is about to call on syrian president bashar assad to step down. they said as much at the white house today. >> the president believes that syria will be better off, would be better off without president assad. >> saudi arabia's king adullah and or arab nations have unified use of force. saudis and other nations withdrew ambassadors this week. the treasury department announced new sanctions on syria bank close to the government which they say is implicated in illegal weapons trade with north korea. the u.s. imposed sanction on the largest cell phone company controlled by a key supporter of the assad got. >> the most important thing we can do now is ensure the actions back up our words. >> the u.n. security council last week condemned the syrian government for attacking civilians the u.s. was pushing for a legally binding

resolution against syria blocked by five other nations. critics say as the carnage in syria gets worse, statements syria would be better off without assad fall on deaf ears. >> syria would have been better off without assad and his father for 40 years. and simply saying that at the white house unfortunately has no effect at all. >> especially when syrians look at libya's muammar gaddafi who faced down a nato bombing campaign and even more pressure and still remains in power in washington, jim angle, fox news. >> bret: we have two panels tonight. we'll talk about politics with iowa journalists in a few minutes. but first, fox all-stars discuss another downer on wall street. the economy, and what it means for president obama. [ male announcer ] summer is here. and so too is the summer event. now get an incredible offer on the powerful c300 sport sedan. but hurry before this opportunity...disappears. the mercedes-benz summer event ends august 31st.

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about where he thinks, you know, the committee could come together in a balanced way, to significantly reduce the deficit. it will be designed to draw bipartisan support because the purpose here is not to say this is what we would do if we controlled everything. or we could simply mandate an outcome. it shouldn't be the approach that republicans take either. >> bret: white house president secretary today at the white house, as the dow, you see, took a major dive. 519 points today in the dow. s&p lost 51. the nasdaq lost 101. this is as new approval ratings are out. fox news poll for the president now stands at 42%. according to the job performance question in the newest fox news poll. we'll start there. then talk about the super committee and what it could do. let's bring in the panel. steve hayes, senior writer for

the "weekly standard." carolina tumulte, "washington post." syndicated columnist, charles krauthammer. steve, start with you. today the white house seemed to be trying to get its footing here after a good day on wall street yesterday. and then just got wallloped by another horrible roller coaster at the end of the day. >> i'm not sure today, i think consensus is that today's performance on wall street had much more to do with things that were happening overseas with rumors about french banks and whatnot. still, not a good day for the white house, never a good day for the white house when the dow goes down anything like it was. i found most remarkable, jay carney press briefing they are emphasizing a, quote/unquote, balanced approach, which everybody understands to be raising taxes. now the president himself has said in the past repeatedly, raising taxes in a recession is the last thing you want to do. you can't consider it. it would hurt the economy and suck demand out of the economy is the way he put it. here today, you have the president in what is an

economic downturn, distressed economy. his smokesman again calling for raising taxes. it just doesn't make sense. if the white house wants to do something to settle the markets at this point i think the best thing they can do is stop talking about raising taxes. >> bret: karen, your colleague at the "washington post" richard cohen brote this. "when the stock market fell more than 500 points last week, and the image that night of the president whooping it up at his birthday party, the juxtaposition seemed appropriate. he does not seem to care." it seems like there are more and more of these comments in the media. and columnists, several of them writing about this sense about the presidency. >> i think it's not just columnists. i think what they are reflecting is an unease among a lot of the president's democratic allies. not so much because of those kind of visuals. i think, because they don't believe that the white house and the president have

articulated a plan, strategy, strategy that is muscular enough to produce more jobs. steve talked about them talking about raising taxes. but nobody thinks that tax increases are going to happen anytime in the near future. not in this political climate. i do think that hearing from, i heard from a lot of the president's allies. what they want is some sort of sense of what the president stands for. and what his bottom line really will be on creating jo jobs. >> bret: charles? >> well, we were talking here about how detach and disengaged he appears and how disturbing it is particularly to obama's allies in the press. but the irony is, even if you were undetached and concerned and involved, the markets have shown that he is the anti-e.f. hutton. when he speaks, no one listens. the markets take no notice whatsoever of what he does.

he has no idea. out of bullets, out of arrows, he doesn't have a clue. we heard the sound bite from jay carney where he said the president will have specific ideas on debt reduction. will have? this is after the got announced today that the deficit for this fiscal year were only ten months in, two months to go. already has exceeded a trillion dollars, after 2009 and 2010. you add to this year's deficit. here is a president who has run up $4 trillion in debt in less than three years. and he is still will later have ideas on reducing the debt. he is clueless and for now irrelevant. >> bret: the optimists in washington, steve, have the super committee getting this job done. the $1.5 trillion in additional cuts. today republicans announced their picks on the senate side. senators kyl, toomey and portman.

on the house side, congressman hensarling, camp and upton. these are the republican picks. we told you yesterday about the democratic picks. senators baucus, kerry and murray in the house from pelosi still not known, not named at this point. what is the outlook for the super committee at who is picked so far? >> i would not count myself as an optimist in washington about the work of this committee. i think it's basically set up to deadlock. i think the kind of people that were picked for this while many of them thoughtful are the kind of panel that is likely to produce something that looks deadlocked. i think that is the most likely outcome. i think it's baked in early when this committee was first con sievered of. not -- conceived of. i'm not optimistic they'll do something. it's one reason we were concerned about the defense cut that was triggered that the committee doesn't do what it was assigned to do. >> bret: karen, what do you see of republican picks? people talk about max baucus on the democratic side, being

a guy two could negotiated pointing to andy murray saying she is the head of the dscc, the democratic senatorial campaign committee. on republican side what do you see with the picks? >> there is brain power and experience and rising stars in the party. it's interesting, i believe that all but one of them, senator toomey actually voted for this recent debt ceiling agreement, which does suggest that these are people who are going to be very, very focused on kind of keeping the country away from the brink again. i am maybe more optimistic than steve is. >> bret: last thing, charles, put up one more poll, fox news poll up today about congress. the approval of congress. our new poll shows 10 president of them approve of the job that congress is doing. 81% disapprove.

they are not optimistic about the super committee. >> no, they are hovering in gaddafi range right now. look, this is lower than it's ever been. i acknowledge that. but generally people have a higher opinion of the person who represents them and their district than congress in general. this will pass. they will still going to be a high re-election rate next year in congress. i think what it says is watching the sausage made on debt ceiling made people upset. perhaps even angry. but i don't think it's going to have a real effect next year. >> bret: charles, karen, steve, thank you very much. next up, how iowans feel about the 2012 race. in june, i met with three undecided iowa voters. asked them about their concerns heading to the election. you can watch that story on our home page at foxnews.com/specialreport. tomorrow, i'll have an update on their stories and tell you where they are. [ female announcer ] so you think your kids are getting enough vegetables?

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we may do quite well on saturday, i no idea. i don't make predictions, but it's significant. it's significant for me personally. it's significant for our campaign. it's significant for the cause of liberty. >> i think the people of iowa are far less concerned with the process of politics and far more concerned about the future of america. >> what we need in this late hour at a time when our country is sinking, when our country is drowning is strong leaders who are going to roll up their sleeves and put their shoulders back and their head down and drive this thing to conclusion. >> some of the candidates here in iowa, ahead of the big debates. there is a new poll out, fox

news poll. you see romney, this is a national poll obviously. governor perry at 13%. sarah palin who is obviously not in yet. 8%. there you see a write-in for mike huckabee at 3%. and tim pawlenty at 2%. and how the polls stack up there. let's get some thoughts from some people who cover iowa every day. and what they think about this week's events. and what is happening here. joining me now here in ames, kathy, the political columnist for "des moines register." dave price, political reporter for who tv in des moines. kay henderson, news director for radio iowa. thank you for being here. you know, as you see the candidates out and about, let's start with you. do you think -- give us a sense of what the feeling is ahead of the debate, how important is it for the candidates, and who stands to gain the most. >> it's really important for candidates and not just because the straw poll follows it. there are two dynamics.

one, you have a national debate with a national field of candidates and then a mini debate going on with the candidates who need to do well in the straw poll. so, you know, i think that people are going to be using this debate to try to advance different campaign purposes. it will be interesting to see how the dynamic plays out. >> bret: dave, with all the turmoil in the markets, the focus on the economy, you know, how does that play here? how important is all of that? obviously, important across the country, but here in iowa. >> that is what they are talking about now. it doesn't matter who you go see, bachmann, santorum, paul, pawlenty, anybody, they talk about the economy from the start to the finish so they know that is the biggest thing out there. >> bret: kay, social issues seem to play high in iowa. if you were to stack the importance, can you do it? >> i think the economy has eclipsed the social issues right now to the extent you have outside groups from washington, d.c. who have bussed in the state to go around and encourage iowans to sort of rev up the talk about

social issues. frankly, people who care most about social issues already know where the candidates stand on the issues. >> bret: organizationmly, kay, do you see a campaign standing out in your mind here in iowa? >> well, of course, governor pawlenty has amass the most talented campaign crew on the grounds here. the bachmann folks started in june. and they have gone out of the get a very hard. they are campaigning hard here. i would point to ron paul, the man who is running ron paul's campaign managed the campaign of pat robertson in 1987, who won this straw poll not far from where we are sitting today. >> bret: people at home, dave, don't have a pull appreciation of a straw poll number one. and what it means here in iowa, number two. i mean for somebody sitting on the couch, maybe doesn't follow politics all the time, what do you say to them? >> there is, to put it in perspective, there are 3 million people in this state. only probably somewhere between 10 and 15,000 people will be here saturday and actually vote. so you can see how much attention the 10,000 to 15,000

people get. it's a huge deal. but you are talking about a microcosm of the population that will have a big say in who survives past saturday. >> bret: kathy, that is kind of what the caucuses are as well, a microcosm. it's not the whole state that comes out in the caucuses, but more than the straw poll. it's very organizationmly based. >> exactly. we consider this to be a dry run for the caucuses. the caucus test campaign ability to get people out in the middle of the winter to spend two hours at community meeting. the straw poll is an even bigger lift than that, people have to come from all over the state. $30 admission charge to vote in the straw poll. that is why you get attention at this stage after the game. >> bret: do agree with kay? >> i do. bachmann, pawlenty and paul, those would be in my top three picks to finish in straw poll.

>> bret: and for folks here, when they get through this week, and you start heading toward the caucuses, are they cocky about how much attention they get from presidential candidates? >> i don't know about cocky, but i think that they do expect it. i mean they have come to expect it. when they don't get it, they get kind of miffed. >> bret: dave? >> i think it's -- i don't think people would be cocky about it either. but there is that expectation. when you talk to people that go to an event, they expect the chance to reach out and shake the candidate's hand first, but secondly to actually talk. and ask them a question. they'll go away mad if they didn't get the chance. >> bret: which is unique. iowa, new hampshire, that's it. >> right. >> i think the unique thing about this is that while people focus on how iowans view this process, this is a process that really is a crucible test for the candidates. it helps them hone the message. when you are giving the same speech eight, ten times a day, it really makes you a better

messenger of your own campaign if you have to do it on a regular basis. >> bret: that's right. kay, dave, kathy, thank you so much. we'll keep them around for "special report" online and ask them questions so log in. that is it for this panel. stay tuned for final thoughts from iowa. [ malannouncer ] imagine facing the day with less chronic low back pain. imagine living your life with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is a non-narcotic treatment that's fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain

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>> bret: welcome back to ames, iowa. this place is packed for football games here at iowa state. we hope we were able to get you a sense for the taste people have for politics in this part of the country. this state will be here again for "special report" at 6:00 p.m. eastern. 9:00 p.m. eastern the republican presidential candidates debate. this will somebody a good one. we will have it for you live. participate in the straw poll. a special two